It's beginning to look a lot like…
by SethNightlord
Summary: Ichigo's Christmas is going to suck and he's not sure what's going to kill him first, his family or the snowball fights. But maybe it's finally time to forgive and spread some holiday joy. RenjixIchigo Oneshot


It's beginning to look a lot like…

By: Sethnightlord

"It's beginning to look a lot like fuck you." I grumbled under my breath. The snow had turned to dirty slush in the mall parking lot and was staining my new Nikes. God, I hate this season. A strong gust of wind came through and cut right through my heavy fleece-lined sweatshirt. It was like someone had dipped me in a snow pile naked. I really hate this season.

The damn worst season of the year.

Between the snow and the caroling, I don't know what will kill me first. Oh yeah—actually I do and that's my family. My family is tough at even the best of times and being locked in a house with the majority of my extended family is enough for me to seriously consider harakiri.

Seriously, who ever thought this holiday up is on my fucking shit list. Speaking lists, my mother had sent me out with a list of last minute groceries and present to pick up for finicky relatives—relatives I only see once a year at best. In fact, for the past few years, most of my family hasn't even shown up for Christmas, which is just fine by me. Last year hadn't been so bad but that's because the fucking Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had been MIA.

In fact, it's probably been five or so years since I've seen those fuckers. They all attended school overseas to compete in some sword fighting competitions in college. I, on the other hand, gave up on swordplay after Grandpa died. But that's in the past now.

I've recently completed the first semester of my sophomore year in college. I had a great soccer season and am planning on spending most of my break doing workouts to avoid my family. Sounds like a solid plan.

Some how I managed to brave the horrendous Christmas crowds at the mall and the grocery store. I almost got into a fight with some old women over the last can of whipped cream but I didn't bend before her tears. The wrath I'd feel from my mother would be worse than this lady's crocodile tears.

I slammed the trunk closed behind me with my butt. I had my arms full of bags so you can't blame me for the fact that I slipped on a patch of ice and fell flat on my ass. The bags were good but my ass was frozen solid as a pound of snow went down the back of my pants. I let out a very unmanly scream and then a stream of loud curses.

"Oh Ichigo, if your mother could hear that foul language." A teasing female voice called out from behind me.

"You'd be cursing up a storm too if your balls were freezing off, Rukia." My younger cousin came in to view beside me. She was a tiny thing and was all bundled up in a parka.

"Heh, look at you. Think you've got enough layers?" I joked.

"Nice to see you too, you klutz." She smacked me lightly on the head and took two of the bags from my arm so I could stand back up. With a groan, I righted myself and offered to take the bags back from Rukia.

"No, I've got it. You look like you could use some help anyway—looks like Aunt Masaki has you running ragged, huh?" She said lightly; Rukia had always been my favorite cousin, she wasn't a ragging lunatic like our other cousins or a total dick like her brothers. She'd been coming every year for Christmas since she had stayed local when she went to college. She was studying to be a social worker.

"So, how was the ride?" I asked. We talked often enough that we didn't have to go through other awkward conversation formalities—another thing to like about Rukia.

"Trying. Very trying." She said with a sigh and I believed her. Her parents were a little cold at the best of times and I hadn't seen her dad since her parents had divorced over ten years ago. Aunt Sui-Feng was as intimidating as hell seeing as how she barely cleared five feet. Get some alcohol in her and she begins to loosen up though.

"Oh I believe that." I said with a laugh as I opened our front door. My home is modest thanks to my dad's private practice and my mother who acts as his receptionist. She was a nurse when they met and fell in love; now she only does a little nursing and mainly helps out my father.

"So how long have you been here for?" I asked, jovially.

"We probably got here a few minutes after you left to run errands—my mother keeps a tight schedule even with some people's attempts to slow her down."

"And I can only guess who that could be," My voice dripping with sarcasm and contempt for my older cousins.

"Heh, Ichi—I do believe I sense some sarcasm." A deep voice chortled behind me and a heavy arm draped across my shoulders. "Come give your favorite cousin some love."

If there was anything that could piss more off more than falling on my ass it was Ikkaku. Yumichika appeared in front of me with his shit-eating grin and a wooden katana slung over his shoulder. Of the Four Assholes of the Apocalypse, Yumichika was probably the least annoying and that's because he talked more about himself than he teased me. I caught a glimpse of the third member of the group, Rukia's older brother Byakuya, the ice king. I'm not quite sure why he even hangs out with the other three but they seemed to share the same warped sense of humor.

"You wanna not use me as a human armrest, Ikkaku?" I grumbled, pushing past my other two cousins so I could deposit my bags on the kitchen table.

At that point, my mother came in screeching like a whirlwind in a pink frilly apron. "Ichigo Kurasaki! Get those bags off the table! I just waxed it!" Scared into submission, I grabbed the bags and flung them at the kitchen counter. I collapsed against the sink next to my Aunt Sui-Feng as she sipped a mug of what was most likely alcoholic apple cider.

"Hello to you too, Mom." I muttered before turning to my aunt and giving her a hug. She was receptive which meant she was probably a drink or two in.

"Oh Ichigo! Don't be so dramatic!" My mother was scrubbing at the table where the bags had rested like a madwoman. I wasn't surprised; my mother could get pretty intense about things like that.

Rukia set her bags down next to mine. "Thanks Rukia!" My mother sang out.

"What crap." I muttered under my breath, which got me a whack from my mother's cleaning cloth.

"Go outside and help your father chop up that tree he insisted on cutting down yesterday. He's convinced we'll have enough firewood from that one tree to last us the rest of our lives." Neither my mother nor I had the heart to tell my father that what he called a tree was little more than a scraggly twig. It was fire-starter material if anything. But I went outside anyway.

I mentioned that they're the Four Dicks of the Apocalypse, right? Because I'd yet to meet my least favorite of all four, my second cousin, the dick himself—Renji. He was outside with my father telling some bawdy joke that had my father gripping his sides as he roared with laughter. There was an empty six-pack of beer next to them, chilling in a snowdrift. The two of them had a miniature campfire going between them, which probably wasn't such a great idea since they both looked like they were on their way to becoming quite drunk.

I sighed. Wonderful. "Dad, Mom wanted me to see if you needed any help with chopping that "tree" but it looks like you're good, so I'll be leaving." I said as I turned on my heel to run back indoors.

"Woah, Ichigo! Leaving so soon?" A taunting voice yelled out. Ugh, Renji.

I turned back around and muttered hello sullenly. From inside my mother yelled for my dad to come help her and he was off like a shot, leaving me alone with my arch nemesis.

"Look—let's cut to the chase Renji—" I tried to start but he cut me off.

"Long time no see, Ichi. Look at how tall you are and you lost weight too—no longer that chubby little strawberry but still got that pissy look on your face." Renji gave me a shit-eating grin that didn't look kind in the least. Suddenly, I felt a lot like Little Red Riding Hood getting leered at by the Big Bad Wolf.

"Nice to see you too." I replied warily.

"Sit down for a little, cuz. It's be a long time since I last saw you—tell me what's new." Renji leaned forward and steepled his fingers in front of his face, cradling his beer. His fingers were long, lean, and calloused from years of swordsmanship and his shoulders were broad underneath his hoodie.

I was reluctant to join him at the makeshift fire but his eyes held a challenge that I couldn't back down from. Somehow, I found my legs moving to the seat across from him. I folded my leggy form in the seat and he offered me a beer. I refused—I was already cold enough.

"So tell me, how's college? What's your major again?" He looked at me with a smirk that told me he didn't give a shit what I responded.

"College is fine; I'm in my sophomore year at California State. I'm majoring in sports medicine but I'm thinking of going to Physician's Assistant school." That was my generic speech for whenever anyone asked how school was going. I wasn't sure what I wanted exactly in life—I was just content to keep playing soccer.

"Ah, so the medical field. A noble profession." He nodded solemnly, laughter in his eyes.

"What about you," I asked cautiously.

He shrugged a shoulder. "You know, just enjoying my senior year. Took my GRE's but I'm not sure if I want to go right into grad school or continue doing competitions. Same for Byakuya but I have the feeling he's going for a phD."

I nodded and we fell into an awkward silence of me avoiding his eyes and him nursing a beer. "So how's the soccer been going, yah traitor?"

I groaned. Not this shit again. I'd suffered years of torture at the hands of my cousins thanks to giving up swordsmanship. It's something that our family has practiced for as long as our history goes back. Even the women had practiced swordsmanship—something unheard of. Rukia switches back and forth between her katana and some martial arts. My sisters take lessons on the side along with their million other side activities. I'd never been half so busy when I was a kid.

"It's fine," I said through clenched teeth. "I'm a first string forward on a D1 team. We made it to Nationals this year." I said, changing my tune to something smug.

"Impressive for a pudgy whiner like you." He laughed at his own joke and my face settled into a scowl. "Although, you're definitely not pudgy anymore. How'd you lose all the weight?" He asked me with a leer.

"I was never fat." I grit out between clenched teeth. With that I stood up with a jerk that almost caused me to fall over but I managed to right myself just in time. Renji laughed anyway as my face turned an impressive red hue. I moved to stomp off back into the house where it was warm but Renji stood up and blocked my way.

"I see you didn't grow much taller either, short stuff." He was wrong—I had grown, just not as much as my freakishly tall cousin. He towered a good head over me and I'm not short. Fucking freak of nature.

"Not all of us are going for that 'Jolly Green Giant' look, you know." With that I spun on my heel and flounced around him. I could still hear him chuckling as I slammed the door behind me.

"Oh, Ichigo! I was just about to look for you. Mom wants you to bring down the fake Christmas tree from the attic." Karin told me to which I just rolled my eyes.

"Isn't one tree enough? Jeez, she is going all out this year isn't she? I think we're going a little Christmas crazy here, don't you think?" I grumbled.

"That's what I said but I was shot down." Karin crossed her arms over her fingers and spun her baseball cap around on her head. With that she disappeared off into the house, feather duster in hand.

I grumbled under my breath as I made my way up the stairs and up into the attic. We usually put a fake tree up every year but my mom has been on this evergreen scent kick or something. I try not to question her.

In order to even get to the freaking box the tree was in, I had to move two other boxes full of ornaments off the top. I brought those downstairs for good measure, figuring my mother would want them eventually anyway. Then I turned my attention to the tree; it was a fairly large box and being that it was ten or so years old, it was duct-taped and falling apart in places. I was too afraid to lift it by myself since this was most certainly a two-man job. But my mother had misplaced faith in my abilities. I'd been opening up sauce jars for her since I was twelve.

I knelt down and pushed the box forward, towards the stars, throwing my entire weight behind that shove. I miscalculated and the box shot forward faster than I expected and I wound up on the floor of the attic covered in dust. Something ticked my nose and I sneezed uncontrollably right before letting out a strained curse. After picking myself up off the floor I attempted to get the box down the attic stairs by dragging it as I went down the steps backwards.

Bad idea.

Somehow, I managed to underestimate the weight of box and after four steps I found myself about to tumble backwards down the stairs. Oh God, this was it. I was going to break my neck thanks to this fucking fake Christmas tree. They had better not write that on my tombstone was my last thought before something soft caught me and halted the box's process.

"Still clumsy as ever, I see." A mocking voice said in a breath that tickled my ear. Involuntarily, I shivered and he may have felt it since he laughed, deep in his chest.

"Uh, thanks. I guess." I replied. After helping me get my footing again, he moved to the other side of the box and we carried it downstairs. "Thanks, but I didn't need your help." I said sullenly.

He said nothing, just raised an eyebrow at me and looked up. "Hey, Ichi…"

"What?"

Renji pointed upwards, "Mistletoe." He murmured. I didn't even have time to react before his lips descended on mine. His hand came up to grasp my face and I couldn't pull away even if I wanted to. He held on for what felt like a century but was really only a couple of seconds at the most.

I struggled to pull away and he let me, his hands being the last thing to leave. "What the hell was that about, you ass!" I yelled before storming around him and leaving him behind—still laughing like a braying donkey. I just prayed he wouldn't see how red my face was.

I managed to find an empty room and flounced down in it with a sigh, trying to nurse my wounded pride. "Stupid fucking Renji. Goddamn asshole." I muttered through clenched teeth as I flipped the television on. There was some black and white Christmas special playing so I left it there before I settled myself into the couch. There was a rustling in the blanket on the other side of the couch and Kon popped his nose out. Kon was my family's golden retriever who was getting on in his years and preferred to snooze his days away.

I leaned over and scratched him behind the ears and he let out a groan. I guess I decided to take a note from Kon and soon I was sleeping too. I didn't even remember closing my eyes. I may or may not have been drooling and snoring.

My mother gently shook me awake for dinner, which was a ridiculous affair and half the guest weren't even there yet. My father was daring my older cousins to sake shots, which Rukia and I stayed out of since we weren't old enough to drink yet. So while they drank away the evening, the younger party members entertained themselves with a movie. They didn't even notice us sneak away and I was able to go up to bed and fall asleep to their bickering and yelling.

A pillow to the face started me awake. I jerked up in a murderous rage, almost spilling Kon off the bed since he had decided to use me as a pillow. "The fuck?" I yelled.

"Such bad language, Ichi" Ikkaku said. He and the other Dicks of the Apocalypse were standing around me and they looked all bundled up to go outside.

"Hehe, sleeping like a baby huh? Gotta get your beauty sleep." Yumichika joked as he fit a wool cap over his pristine hair. "Time to get up Sleeping Beauty."

"Why can't you guys just let me sleep?" I moaned as I tried to nestle lower under the blankets draped over me. Kon let out an answering groan.

"Well, we would let you continue to drool on yourself but in the nine hours you've been out cold, at least six inches of snow has dropped and your Mom wants us to clear the driveway." Renji said. He had a headband on, covering his ears and a Northface jacket draped over his shoulder.

"It shouldn't be so bad, you guys have that snow blower still right?" Ikkaku asked.

"Yeah, about that. It broke last year and my father keeps claiming he's going to fix it." I grumbled, still hiding.

"Fuuuckkkk." Renji said with a groan. "Well better get started or I don't know who I'm going to fear more, your mom or Aunt Sui-Feng." Finally, something we could both agree on. My aunt Sui-Feng was normally frightening but crossing my mother made my aunt look like a saint.

"You guys get started without me, I'll get dressed and have some lunch before I meet you out there. Shovels are in the garage." They stomped out in their snow boots and I gently pushed Kon off me. He didn't care when I placed the blanket back on top of him. The dog had become such a cuddler it was really ridiculous. With a deep sigh, Kon settled back to sleep.

I stumbled into the kitchen and my mother pushed a ham and cheese sandwich into my hands before shooing me up the stairs to put on some heavier clothes. I tugged on some Under Armor leggings and a pair of heavy sweat pants over that along with a heavy sweatshirt. My mom had recently bought me some new gloves so I put those on as well. My father had an old pair of snow boots so I pulled them on before tugging my winter jacket on. By then I had finished my sandwich and drank two cups of water.

I didn't go out to the driveway right away since I had my favorite shovel stashed in the shed. So I made a detour and picked that up before heading towards the front. There was a whine behind me and I turned around to see Kon sitting in front of the gate with a scarf wrapped around his neck. No matter how many times we tried to convince my mother that Kon didn't get cold, she never believed us and insisted on bundling the dog up.

"Fine," I said and I went back to open the gate to allow Kon through. That made him happy and he galloped past me, plowing through snowdrifts and getting his coat covered in flurries. I found my cousins starting at the bottom of the driveway and it looked like they had been attempting to make good headway until it dissolved into a snowball fight. Byakuya was still working though and I hoped that meant that anyone working was no longer a target. I settled in behind him, trying to concentrate on shoveling and ignore the snowballs flying over my head and the screams as they hit their targets. Kon was still bounding around in snowdrifts, getting his scarf tangled around his legs.

This lasted for about ten minutes before Byakuya got fed up and called the others back to help. They came back grumbling and picked up their shovels again. Every time I tossed a shovel-full of snow towards the edge of the driveway, Kon ran at it, trying to snatch some of the snow out of the air with his teeth. Eventually he got tired and decided to take a snooze in my snow pile and I had to avoid burying him alive.

When we were about a third of the way through the driveway—a long winding driveway—my next-door neighbor came walking up with what looked like a plate of cookies. She was one of my mother's best friends and had a daughter who I used to go to school with. She was in nursing school but was probably back from the holidays.

"Hey, Mrs. Unohana!" I called out with a wave. She waved back and my cousins greeted her in a chorus.

"Hello everyone," She said with a smile. "I'm glad you're all back from school safe and sound. I wanted to bring over some cookies to thank your Mom for her help last week. I knew that you'd be having company so I made extra! Oh! I remember when all of you were as tall as my knee and look at you now!" She laughed and offered us some of her gingerbread cookies. We all took one and then Ikkaku proceeded to try to seduce the woman. Mrs. Unohana had been single for as long as I could remember. I'd always been good friends with her daughter, Otohime, throughout our school years and we now went to the same college. Otohime and Mrs. Unohana had both been invited over to celebrate the holidays since they were all by themselves after the accident that claimed Mr. Unohana and Otohime's brother.

Tired of Ikkaku's shameless flirting, I rolled myself a snowball and chucked it at the flirt's shaven head. He let out an unmanly squawk, which made Mrs. Unohana laugh at him. Embarrassed, Ikkaku let her pass by and make her way to the front door.

When she was out of hearing, Ikkaku turned on me. "Oh, kid! You are so in for it." I was prepared for his threats so I lobbed another snowball at him that managed to hit him square in the face. I barely had time to react before he had launched himself at me and I landed facedown in the snow.

With a yell I squirmed out from underneath him and staggered to my feet only to run headfirst into Renji's chest. He grabbed me and spun me around, holding my arms behind my back. "Looks like I caught him for you, Ikkaku."

"Hold, that ass there. I was so close to getting that fine lady." Ikkaku bragged as he began making the mother of all snowballs.

"Oh yes, she was just disrobing here in front of us she was so eager for a taste of you," Byakuya drawled. He hadn't stopped shoveling.

Ikkaku flushed while the rest of us laughed. Annoyed, Ikkaku through his snowball at Renji, sending half a pound of snow down the front of his jacket and on top of my head. "Oh so is that how it is!" Renji called out. "Well then, it's me, Byakuya and Strawberry versus you two!" He said, pointing to Ikkaku and Yumichika.

"Make that just you and Ichigo, I prefer to watch." Byakuya said. Ikkaku pegged him with a snowball. "On second thought, I'm on Renji's team."

"You have just awoken a sleeping giant!" Renji hollered.

"Uh, you can let go of me now," I muttered.

"Oh no! Every captain needs a human shield."

"Actually, no."

Not surprisingly, Renji ignored me and choose to instead toss me over one of the huge snow piles we'd made by shoveling. Kon stood up and barked at us just as the enemy sent the first barrage of snowballs towards us.

"Kon, run! Save yourself!" I yelled as he tried to snap the snowballs out of the air unsuccessfully. Renji and Byakuya were answering the attack with one of their own so I took advantage of the confusion to run out and grab Kon, dragging him back to our cover. He was so happy to be back there with us that he jumped up and licked me all over my face. I forced him to lie down and started making snowballs of my own.

After a few minutes, I noticed there was a lull in the other side's snowballs and Renji screeched something about how we were winning but I wasn't so sure. Then there was a battle cry behind us and none of us had time to duck from the shovel-full of snow that Ikkaku dumped on us.

I plead defeat after that, Byakuya readily followed me but Renji sulked about it for the next half hour. By that time, I was beginning to freeze and my fingers had grown stiff. Kon was sleeping in a snow pile, snoring loudly.

Then Rukia came down, all bundled up. "Hey you guys…wow! You got a lot done! I'm here to tell you to go in and take a break. Mrs. Unohana broke down my mom and Aunt Masaki into letting you guys rest." It was a welcome reprieve and we readily followed her up to the house. My mother forced us to go in through the garage where we stripped and she took our dripping clothes to the dryer.

"Go on," my mother ushered us in, Kon included. "There's hot chocolate waiting and Mrs. Unohana's freshly baked cookies!" She peered out the garage door around me. "Well, look at how much you guys have done!"

A few minutes later, the girls were suited up and ready to pick up where we left off. My father also joined them and I was left inside with the Four Dicks from Hell. They were chatting loudly about some competition with three out of the four chewing cookies with their mouths open. Ikkaku laughed and accidently sprayed Yumichika with chewed up bits of cookie. That got them all laughing again as I rolled my eyes.

Kon has seated himself right over the air vents and soaked up the warm air. My aunt had gotten most of the snow out of his fur but the kitchen still smelled faintly of wet dog. His scarf was in the dryer with all of our stuff.

"Yo! Ichigo, you doing your best impression of a deaf person over there?" Ikkaku called.

"Uh, what?" I asked, taking a sip of hot chocolate to hide my jolt of surprise.

"I asked if you were going out with that cute neighbor of yours yet," Yumichika asked.

"No, actually, we're just friends and she's dating Ulquiorra for the past year." I replied.

"Well, I'll be damned. Looks like the kid finally grew a pair. Dating an older woman, heh!" Yumichika laughed to himself about it with Ikkaku joining in.

"So Ichigo, you got a girlfriend yet?" Ikkaku asked me.

"No." I said, blushing fiercely.

"Aww, leave the poor kid alone. He only just got out of diapers." Renji joked.

"I'm only two years younger than all of you!"

"Could've fooled me."

They were in the middle of enjoying their laugh when the garage door opening and everyone else came in. My aunt Rangiku and uncle Shunsui were with them along with their children. My aunt is my mother's sister and they're as different as night and day. My aunt is a bombshell and my mother is the girl next door. They both married their childhood sweet hearts though. My aunt Sui-Feng is my father's sister.

My aunt and uncle have two children who are as different as they are, Toshiro and Yoruichi. My family tree is a little messy and confusing at times but Yoruichi is my uncle's daughter from another marriage that started young and failed quickly. He had to raise Yoruichi on his own but you'd never know that from his happy-go-lucky attitude.

So Yoruichi isn't blood related to me but she is still my cousin. Toshiro is closer to my sisters' ages than my own so he normally spends his holiday with them. But it's really more complicated than that. Renji, Byakuya, and Rukia all live in the same home but Renji is adopted and is not blood related to me. My aunt was best friends with his mother and adopted Renji after his parents died when he was young. My aunt is more of a mom to him than his blood mother. Finally, it comes to Ikkaku and Yumichika who are also adopted but they are my cousins by blood. My grandfather had officially adopted them after their father left them and my aunt died from cancer. She'd died young but she'd been sick for a long time. By the time my grandfather passed away, they were going to a boarding school and were 18.

My family is confusing and complicated but when they aren't annoying the crap out of me, they're funny as hell. And I can't forget my cousin, Ulquiorra. He's more of a second cousin actually, he and some other miscellaneous members of the family would be here Christmas Day for a little while. Everyone liked to gather at our house since we rebuilt Grandpa's shrine here. The shrine had originally been on his property where he'd built his dojo but he had donated the property to charity in his will. My family had been fine with that so long as they could rebuild part of the shrine. He'd reluctantly agreed while lecturing them about valuing physical things too much.

My aunt Rangiku swept around the table like a whirlwind as she grabbed each of us cousins in turn and placed a loud kiss on our cheeks. When she got to me she paused to exclaim over how cute my hair was and give me a hug. I'd always been her favorite thanks to us sharing the same hair color. My mother's was a couple of shades darker than the both of ours.

Yoruichi had her fiancé Kisuke in tow and he offered us all a wave before taking a beer from my father's hand. Toshiro had already disappeared off with my sisters; they were probably playing some board game. All of the yelling and excitement gave me a headache so I excused myself and headed upstairs. As I was lying on my bed, I got a text from Otohime asking me how I was. She told me I should come over and hang out with her and some other people so I took it as a welcome excuse to get out of the house. I told my father where I was going but he was already too drunk to realize that I was leaving.

I stayed at Otohime's until it got late and I was the last one to leave. When Mrs. Unohana entered, I took my leave and they both promised to come over tomorrow for Christmas Eve.

When I walked back home I was half frozen and not a creature in the house was stirring. I kicked off my shoes and took off all of my wet outer clothing to put in the dyer. There was one light on in the kitchen and Renji was sitting at the table by himself with his laptop in front of him. His hair was in a messy ponytail behind him and he had a half-warm cup of coffee in front of him. So maybe there was a creature stirring.

"Are you the only one still awake?" I asked, falling into the seat across from him. I pulled the plate of cookies in front of me.

"Just you and me pip-squeak." He replied, only looking up for a second.

"Don't call me that," I said sulking.

He looked up at me again and gave me a smile—not a grin but a genuine smile. It wasn't something I often got the chance to see. For a second I was speechless and I could practically feel my face glowing with embarrassment. He just stared back at me with that easy smile.

"You really have grown up."

"That is what tends to happen." I replied in a huffy fashion.

"Hey, no need to get all sarcastic. I'm just saying; it's a nice change."

"Oh, OK," I blushed harder at that.

I got up to go upstairs since I couldn't take the embarrassment anymore. Before I left the kitchen, Renji called out again. "Hey, Ichigo, your dad told us about your impressive season. Making first string in your sophomore year—that's great. Don't let everyone get down on you for quitting kendo. We just tease you because we like that pretty pink color your cheeks turn." He smiled at me and leaned back in his chair.

"Oh… thanks." I said and with that, I walked up to my room where I almost stepped on a body lying on my floor. "Shit…" I mumbled under my breath and the body grumbled at me, swatting at my ankles. With a groan, I realized what was going on. My cousins had probably slept in the guest room since I'd gone to bed early and the room had been available. With my aunt and her entourage, they'd been kicked out of the room and even the living room. They probably didn't have any other choice for where they could go. So my room had become home base.

I know 'tis the season for giving but seriously? Giving up my entire room to those four? My life. At least I get my bed… I flopped into bed and something squirmed underneath me and I froze, thinking it was one of my cousins but when I felt the hot breath on my face, I realized it was just Kon. My sweatpants were placed at the bottom of my bed so I replaced them with my jeans and relaxed back against my pillows. My eyes were heavy and my body stiff from shoveling snow all day. I closed my eyes and slipped away into darkness.

When I woke up, I could smell my mother cooking already and could hear the tinkling of her laughter. The sun beat down on my face and I tried to shove my face further under my pillows and into the sweet darkness. I could feel the bed shift next to me but I figured it was just Kon resetting himself so I reached out to pet him only to feel naked skin.

I jerked up in bed and sent Kon scrambling as I knocked him off of me. "Mmhh, good morning to you too." Renki mumbled from the other side of the bed. Sure it was a queen-sized bed but this was ridiculous! Was nothing sacred?!

"I couldn't sleep on the floor and I figured that you wouldn't mind since you were already sharing your bed with some other man." He laughed and indicated Kon with a lazy nod of his head.

"Shut up you guys! Some people here need their beauty sleep!" Yumichika yelled from his place on the floor. Byakuya just ignored us and rolled over on the futon.

Well that cut it. I could no longer go back to sleep. That shirtless idiot tainted my bed and all the sheets on it. It's the middle of December! No one needs to sleep without a shirt on. Bastard probably did it to show off all of his ridiculous tribal tattoos. OK, so I kind of liked the tattoos. Their dark color contrasted perfectly with his alabaster skin.

I needed a cold shower and with a few curses, I got out of bed by crawling over Renji and Kon. I collected some clothes from my dresser and turned around to see Kon cuddle closer to Renji. Traitor.

After a luke-warm shower, I headed downstairs with the hope that my mother might make me something good. When I got there, she was the only one in the kitchen and was signing Christmas carols along with the radio.

"Huh, where is everyone?" I asked.

"Oh a lot of them went out to run some errands for me and to get some last minute presents. They're also visiting some old friends." She replied as she rolled out the top to a pie and placed it delicately over the filling. "They all ate but I can make you some eggs if you want."

"That would be great, can I help you with anything?" I asked, grateful that my mother was coming through for me.

"I hate to make you do anything else since I feel like I've been working you to the bone but I'm going to need someone to do this stuff while I go shopping for your sisters. Don't worry, I'm making your cousins do some work too. They won't get out of this."

After breakfast, my mother handed me a list of chores to do before she bustled out the door. I managed to knock the first two chores off my list before I had to start cooking. My mother was making two turkeys, a ham, and lasagna for Christmas and even though we had a second kitchen (in the basement), we'd still need to cook a lot of things today like the lasagna.

But first, there was the stuffing to make. My mother had left the bread out over night to stale so I just had to rip it up into tiny pieces. There were six loaves of bread to rip up and by the time I was done, I wanted to rip up my mother's list but I didn't when I saw that my cousins' jobs consisted of cleaning and vacuuming various rooms. Suitable revenge.

When I was done with the bread, I started cooking the sausages and apples that went into the stuffing. The sausage crackled and spit, as it was being sautéed and let out a fragrant smell that made my mouth water. The smell drew Kon downstairs and he took up residence next to me. Then a pair of strong arms encircled my waist.

"Whatcha cooking for me, Ichi? You shouldn't have." Renji whispered in my ear in a deep husky voice. I swear that guy spent his college career majoring in husky tones.

"Oh don't worry, you have chores to do to. My mother didn't forget about you." With that, I struggled out of his grip and thrust my mother's commands in his face. I saw his face fall as he read it and than brighten again.

"Look, I'm on kitchen sweeping duty and laundry. Guess, that means I get to spend some time with you, eh?" I can't ever win can I? After pointing him towards the mop and bucket, I went back to cooking and tried my best to ignore him putzing with the radio. He finally settled on a station and got to work, by that time Byakuya was coming downstairs and I showed him his part on the list. He nodded, happy to see that his section consisted mostly of vacuuming the carpet upstairs. After telling him where the vacuum was, he wandered off, eating a granola bar.

Ikkaku and Yumichika wouldn't be awake for hours and no one else seemed to have stuck around the house. So for now, it was just Renji and I on the first floor. An hour later, I was stirring the lasagna pasta and Renji wasn't even halfway done with mopping the floor. He kept getting distracted and singing into the mop handle like it was a microphone.

"Alright, let's try to finish the mopping sometime before the New Year, please? My mother is going to be annoyed if it's not done and I don't feel like doing your job." I said.

"Don't get your panties up in a bunch, Ichi." Renji smirked at me and hopped up on the counter next to where I was cooking. He stole a piece of mozzarella cheese that I'd been slicing up to put on the pasta and sauce. I had a pot of my mother's tomato sauce out too. She'd made it the night before or something.

I smacked him with my wooden spoon, "Stop eating all my damn cheese. You can have the lasagna tomorrow, when it's cooked." He reached again. "Get your damn fingers out of the cheese!" I said and grabbed his offending limb.

I misjudged his strength though and he used my grip to reel me into him and suddenly, I was standing between his legs. He craned his head down to look at me and laughed, "If you wanted to get close to me, you should have just told me."

"Moron, you're the one that pulled me closer, not the other way around. Now let go of me."

"No." He whispered and his head was lowering on mine. And it felt like I was frozen solid, just standing there, waiting for his lips to descend. But the kiss never happened and I was pushed away as he jumped down off the counter. "Now stop distracting me." He went back to mopping and I just stared at his back for a few minutes before I shook myself out of my stupor.

What was I doing, waiting for him to kiss me? He was my cousin for God's sakes! I mean he's not related by blood—but still! We've known each other forever! OK, maybe we haven't seen each other in at least five years… Oh, who am I kidding? He might be my cousin but that didn't stop me from wanting more of him and he seemed obliged to grant me that wish, for the most part.

We worked in silence until I was done with the cooking and than I retreated to the basement to play some video games by myself. Eventually, my mother called me and told me lunch was ready and I wandered upstairs for a sandwich. The Four Dicks had apparently gone out somewhere so the house was currently quiet considered how many other people where gathered around the table. My mother and aunt Rangiku were flipping grilled cheese sandwiches and handing them out to people.

Even with all the work to do, my mother was in her element. She loved caring for people and she loved when the house was full. I think it got pretty quiet around here a lot of the time with my father at work. Speaking of which, my father was probably at work now with my sisters. There was always a rush of people on Christmas Eve and my sisters helped with the filing and cleaning. Rukia was talking with Yoruichi and her boyfriend; it sounded like they were discussing a football team but I couldn't be sure. Everyone else was talking about Christmases in the past. Their favorite was the year that my father had been attempting to string a giant Santa to the roof and had fallen off into a snowdrift. Now my father wasn't allowed near the roof as per decree by my mother.

"Thanks for doing all that stuff for me Ichigo!" My mother said as she laid two sandwiches on the plate in front of me.

"Oh, Ichigo is always a good boy." My aunt Rangiku sang out.

"Not like those other Four," My aunt Sui-Feng mumbled. Even the rest of my family referred to them as the "Four". It was easier than saying all their names.

"I think someone is going to be getting some good presents this year," Yoruichi joked. She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder and gave me a wink.

After lunch I went back downstairs in the basement but this time Rukia joined me and we passed the time by playing some old Game Cube games. For a little while it was like I was a kid again and like nothing bad had ever happened. That's the magic of Christmas I guess. When I said something about it to Rukia, she agreed.

"I know what you mean. It's like we're in a protective bubble. Even those Four are behaving themselves. It must be a Christmas miracle." She stretched her arms over her head and let out a yawn. "I know they were harsh to you a few years ago but I was hoping they'd finally grow up. I mean; it was your choice to quit if you wanted to and I can't blame you for wanting to… I know you were close to Grandpa."

"He really was the only reason why I kept at it. When they teased me, he took me aside and gave me private lessons on how to kick their asses. He liked seeing the surprised looks on their faces."

Rukia laughed at that, "Yeah, they were jerks but they're not so bad now. Especially Renji, he feels bad for teasing you for all those years."

"He has a funny way of showing it." I grumbled.

"I'm not saying he's perfect." She said with a laugh. "Just that he's trying…"

Later on after dinner, Otohime and her mother came over to celebrate Christmas Eve. I like to think that Christmas Eve is more of a big deal in my family than Christmas Day. We always eat lots of really unhealthy hor d'oeuvres, drink large amounts of alcohol, and talk over whatever movie it is we picked out to watch.

My aunts had officially banned my mother from the kitchen since she'd been doing nothing but cooking all day. Aunt Sui-Feng doled out mugs of eggnog that probably had more alcohol in them than the recipe called for and Aunt Rangiku and Mrs. Unohana handled cooking the food.

Uncle Shunsui was busy telling dirty jokes that my father was dying over and Yoruichi and Kisuke were kissing on the other couch. There was a fire crackling away in the fireplace with Kon sleeping in front of it, hogging all the warmth for himself. Rukia, Toshiro, and my sisters were playing Clue with Toshiro failing miserably. Otohime sat next to me, trying to ward off Ikkaku's advances while still being polite. In the background, some man in an elf suit was yelling on the television.

It was like a mad house, there were people yelling and talking over one another and loud noises coming from the kitchen as my aunts fumbled their way through the cooking. It made me laugh but the din was enough to start giving me a small headache so I wandered off for a bit to sit outside by myself.

I took a deep breath of the cold night air and laughed to myself as I realized it was beginning to snow again. It meant I would have to shovel again in the morning but for now it made a beautiful sight and I couldn't be mad.

"It's nice, right?" A voice asked from behind me.

I whirled around, surprised but I should've expected it to be Renji. Any time I thought I was alone, that guy popped up. He was like a reverse 'Where's Waldo'.

"Oh, yeah. I love the snow. I'm just not a big fan of the cold." I replied, keeping it cordial and remembering what Rukia had said to me earlier. If he was surprised by the lack of sarcastic commentary he didn't show it and instead offered me some of his mulled cider—a specialty of Mrs. Unohana. I took a sip and the spices flooded my mouth and the heat warmed my belly and slowly spread to the rest of me.

"I think that's why this is my favorite season. Even though it's cold, it's still good. I like the smell of the cold and the snow, reminds me of family and Grandpa."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. Christmas had always been my Grandpa's favorite holiday and we still celebrated it the way he liked it in honor of him. I know that wherever he is, it makes him happy.

Renji stepped closer to me and put a hand on my arm. "Look up," he whispered. I do and to my surprise, there was another sprig of mistletoe above our heads.

"It's poisonous, you know," Was the only thing I could think to say before his lips descended on mine again.

By the time we broke apart, my lips were tingling and I was short of breath. I couldn't even feel the cold anymore. Behind us the front door blew open and my sisters and Rukia stood in the doorway.

"Look it's snowing!" My youngest sister exclaimed and with that she scampered back in the house to tug on some snow gear.

"Come have a snowball fight with us you guys!" Rukia said as she pulled on snow boots. Renji agreed right away but took a full set of puppy eyes to get me to trudge up to my room and get ready. When I came back down, the rest of the family was struggling into their jackets and picking teams. Somehow I ended up being a human shield for my mother and Mrs. Unohana while my two aunts hurled snowballs with frightening accuracy. My uncle laughed at Aunt Rangiku until she lobbed a snowball in his face.

Rukia and Otohime threw snowballs at my sisters as they squealed and hid behind my father who just threw them to the wolves. Typical. Toshiro tried to rescue them but his efforts were useless. Yoroichi attempted to throw a snowball in Byakuya's direction but Kisuke tackled her before the projectile could even leave her hands. Kon ran around me in circles, barking like mad. Ikkaku and Yumichika snuck up behind me and grabbed my mother and Mrs. Unohana, declaring they'd won the game my capturing the prizes. From nearby, Renji caught my eye and even as the last of a snowball melted down the front of my shirt, I smiled and he responded in kind. My face flushed to think of all our stolen kisses.

He was right; this was the best season.

The End

Author's Note: Well even us cynics sometimes get into the holiday spirit. This is meant to be my little way of thanking you guys and getting back into the writing groove. Hopefully you guys can expect to see some new things from me soon. Please ignore any spelling errors; I had to bang this out quickly to get it posted on time. Happy Holidays everyone!


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